


Birthday Boy

by GemmaRose



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Party, Birthday Presents, Gen, Homesickness, Secrets, Surprise Party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-12-08 01:41:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11636304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemmaRose/pseuds/GemmaRose
Summary: Lance never expected to understand the feelings of the girl from Sixteen Candles so well, but then he also never expected to be stuck in space with aliens fighting a war for the freedom of the universe on his birthday. Sometimes life just sucks.





	Birthday Boy

Lance woke up to his phone beeping, and nearly fell on his face scrambling to grab it from the nightstand. He swiped the combination for his phone before the screen was even facing him, and the insane bubble of hope in his chest popped like a party balloon flown too high. An appropriate metaphor, considering his phone was now playing a cheerful little midi of Feliz Cumpleaños made out of robot noises. One of his cousins had installed it last year without telling him, a surprise present to wake him up on his birthday.

His screen flashed, the camera snapping a picture of his face, and digital confetti rained down around the photo as the little application automatically added the number 17 in a font styled to look like those fancy number candles. His phone beeped at him again, and Lance tossed it down towards the foot of the bed. Of course it couldn’t upload the file to the cloud, there was no internet in space. Flopping down, he yanked the covers up over his head and aggressively buried himself in his bedding.

Five months. They’d been out here for five months now, away from everything they’d ever known and everyone they’d ever loved. Well, not all of them. Pidge had their family now, and Keith had Shiro, and Shiro had his future fucking _in-laws_ because of course he did; but he and Hunk? They only had each other. Hunk was awesome, smart and clever and occasionally funny between his awful puns, but Lance had only known him since they met at the Garrison. He was a friend, yeah, but he wasn’t family.

Lance swallowed a sob, and pressed his face harder into his pillow. He missed them so bad it ached, like a physical hole punched in his chest, and a wave of resentment swept through him. He shouldn’t be here. He’d never asked to be a Paladin, to be a soldier, to be given the fate of the universe to carry on his shoulders. He’d never wanted to be ripped from his home and family and dreams. Blue purred in the back of his mind, a sound like waves on the beach, and Lance’s breath hitched a bit.

“Sorry, girl.” he choked out, wiping his nose on his pajama sleeve. “I know it’s not your fault.”

Blue purred more insistently, and Lance felt himself relaxing. “I’m not leaving you any time soon.” he mumbled into his pillow. He _couldn’t_ leave her, no matter how much he wanted to sometimes. He was part of something bigger than himself, just like all the other conscripts in this intergalactic war.

\---

The second time he woke on his birthday, Lance woke determined. He was a million, billion miles from home, sure, but he still had friends to celebrate with. He hummed some pop song under his breath as he got ready, a catchy little thing he couldn’t remember the words to or name of, and left his room with a smile on his face. Hunk was already in the kitchen with Pidge, as usual, and Lance ruffled Pidge’s hair with a yawn as he grabbed a cup of what Allura and Coran called kousa and the rest of them called Altean coffee.

Breakfast was normal, Hunk’s culinary skill and chemistry knowledge having turned food goo, once again, into something resembling actual food. The textures were a bit off, but it was still miles better than Coran’s cooking.

Conversation ebbed and flowed like a tide, driven largely by Keith and Pidge debating the practicality of trying to charge his bayard blade with electricity to zap enemies, and Lance was content to let it wash over him. As Coran helped collect plates he opened his mouth, but Allura cut him off by clearing her throat sharply. “Paladins, since you are all presentable already, I will expect you in the training room in one tock instead of one varga.”

Lance groaned and hung his head back. Great, extra training. At least it was just mental stuff, and they were getting damn good at that.

\---

Lance hung his head in his hands, and bit back a scream of frustration. Nothing was working, today. Trying to link his mind with the others’ felt like slamming his head into a brick wall. Their little holographic lions were joining up easily enough, but every time the little projected Blue came close to linking up all five spluttered out and vanished.

“Is something wrong?” Hunk asked, looking at him with wide, concerned eyes. Lance bit back his anger, and exhaled heavily through his nose. It wasn’t Hunk’s fault they were out of synch today, it was his. Hunk didn’t deserve to be the target of his frustration.

“Nothing.” he bit out. “Just-” he hesitated, words crowding on his tongue, then swallowed them all and sighed heavily. “Just one of those days, I guess.”

Hunk patted him on the shoulder, and Lance pulled up a smile. He could do this. He wouldn’t be the weak link that kept them from forming Voltron if they were attacked or got a distress beacon.

\---

Several vargas later, when Allura relented and let them take a break for lunch, they still hadn’t managed to form Voltron even once. It was like their first day of training all over again, but worse, because this time he was the one throwing them out of synch. Standing under the spray of his shower after the quiet, unsatisfying meal, Lance leaned his head against the tile and reached for his bond with Blue. “What’s wrong with me today?” he mumbled.

She purred comfortingly, her energy making the cool water drumming against his skin feel almost like an embrace, and Lance’s mouth pulled into an involuntary smile. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” he muttered, straightening up slightly. Maybe he’d take her out for a flight before afternoon training, clear his head a bit. “What do you think of going for a ride in a bit?” he asked, and Blue made a bubbly noise Lance could only liken to an excited meow. He chuckled, and pushed off of the tile to turn his face to the spray. “Be right there.” he grinned, turning off the water.

He dressed quickly, and left his room with most of his armour only half buckled. He could fix it after take-off. Noise around the corner made him slow his trot, and he smiled at the sound of Hunk and Pidge’s voices lowered in conspiratorial whispers.

“We should tell him.” Hunk insisted.

“We can’t.” Pidge hissed back. “And anyways, he’ll find out soon enough. Then it’ll be over with, and we can get back to saving the universe.”

“Who’re we not telling what?” he asked, rounding the corner. Hunk and Pidge both startled, Pidge letting out a high pitched squeak, and Hunk laughed nervously.

“Oh, nothing.” he waved his hands dismissively.  
“Matt.” Pidge said at the same time.

The two of them looked at each other, then back at Lance.

“Right, Matt.”  
“Sorry, nothing.”

“O-kaay.” Lance frowned.

“What’s with your armour?” Hunk asked quickly.

“Oh, I’m just going for a quick flight in Blue. Wanna come with? We can go asteroid dodging or something.”

“No, no.” Hunk said far too fast. “Pidge and I have, uh-”

“Coran.” Pidge butted in. “He asked us to help fix a thing. You go have fun.” they waved their hand, shooing him away, and Lance’s stomach twisted as he walked away. Hunk and Pidge ducked around the corner he’d just rounded, and despite Blue’s warning rumble in his head he held still and listened.

“That was _way_ too close.” Hunk hissed.

“Agreed.” Lance could practically hear Pidge nodding.

“We should’ve just told him.”

“We can’t, it’d ruin everything. Come on, we should go somewhere more private in case he forgot something.”

Lance’s stomach fell through the floor, and he slumped against the wall as their footsteps retreated. It had been deliberate. They were hiding something from him, keeping him out of the mind meld because of it. When was ‘‘soon enough’’? What did Pidge mean when they said it would all be over? His stomach lurched, and he tucked his head against his knees. They weren’t kicking him off the team, they couldn’t. Blue was bonded with him and only him, and Blue was part of Voltron, which meant she- and by extension, he- was a vital part of the team.

But, a traitorous voice hissed in his ear, there was always Allura. She’d piloted Blue before, when Shiro was missing. Were they going to send him home and have her take over? Lance gripped his helmet, and took deliberate breaths through his mouth. He wanted to go home, to see his family again, but not like this. Not in disgrace, discharged because he’d been deemed unfit to defend the universe.

Blue roared in his head, the sound of massive waves on a cliff face shaking him free of his spiraling thoughts, and he felt the chill phantom pressure of Blue’s energy surrounding him. He let his Lion guide him to her hangar, and curled up in the her pilot’s seat. She rumbled, the cockpit shaking and the sound buzzing in his bones, and Lance laughed wetly.

“Thanks, girl.” he petted the dashboard, smiling wryly. “Don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Blue chuffed, a sound like glaciers grinding together, and Lance giggled again. Blue’s dashboard lit up, and he gripped her controls when they came up in front of him. “I did promise you a flight, didn’t I?”

\---

Afternoon training was slightly less miserable than morning training, but only slightly. The flight had done wonders for Lance’s mood, but the second he stepped into the training room and found everyone else already in a circle surrounded by waiting laser drones, it had plummeted again. Of course they were still doing teamwork exercises, they hadn’t formed Voltron successfully even once this morning. A laser caught him in the back after just a few seconds, and when he fell into the dark under-level Lance almost wished it’d never spit him back out. But then he’d never get to see his family again, so he sighed heavily and turned on the flashlight on his left gauntlet. Nobody else had fallen yet, which meant they were doing just fine without him, and a wave of resentment washed through him.

Blue drove it back with a wave of her own, her soothing purr washing around him and dragging his anger down, away. He didn’t want to be angry, it was his birthday. He just wanted to celebrate it with the others, but it seemed they didn’t even remember despite the fact that he’d mentioned it when Hunk pointed out the date a week or so ago. Lord, he felt like the girl from that one 80s movie. He got up, and used his light to find the access panel which opened near the wall. Maybe he should just leave, go take Blue and fly around for another few vargas to clear his head. He was going to be just as much dead weight in this as he was in their morning training.

When he climbed out, everyone else was still in the ring. They’d formed up in a tight square, and Coran and Allura were cheering them on. Lance grimaced, and shut the trap door quietly. They wouldn’t even notice he was gone.

\---

He’d been flying for almost an entire tock when Blue pinged quietly to indicate an incoming message. “It’s alright, girl.” Lance grinned, easing up on the controls. “You can pick up.”

Blue huffed unhappily, and Lance scrubbed his face with the heels of his hands in his last seconds before Allura came on-screen. “Lance, what are you doing?” she asked sharply, and Lance forced himself not to wonder if she was worried or reprimanding.

“Sorry, Princess.” he gave her an easy smile. “My head’s been a mess today, I was only gonna slow us all down in training.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line, and she looked to the side at someone off-camera before sighing. “Fine. Do some scouting and deepen your bond with your Lion, but return in four vargas or less.”

“Understood.” Lance nodded, and the viewscreen returned to empty space. He slumped in his seat, and Blue’s energy wrapped around him like a cool, heavy blanket. He had the best Lion, hands down, but that did nothing to change the fact that it had taken them a full half hour to realize he was gone. Blue purred, and Lance curled his knees up to his chest loosely. “Do you mind if we just, sit here a while?” he asked, running his fingers gently along the side of the arm rest.

Blue purred again, agreeing this time instead of soothing, and Lance closed his eyes. “I just- I need some time.”

Blue’s purr deepened, until it was a physical thing Lance could feel in his core, and he let his Lion lull him to sleep.

\---

The third time Lance woke on his birthday, it was to a stiff neck and a beeping message from the castle. He rubbed at his eyes, grateful that the helmet hid his hair, and sat up straight as he accepted the call. “Yes, Princess?”

“I’ve been hailing you for six doboshes. Where are you?” she snapped, shoulders tense.

“Coming back in.” Lance said, leaving his hands folded in his lap. “Blue’s been silencing incoming calls she deems unimportant.”

Allura’s face pinched, and she exhaled heavily. “As long as you’re on your way back now. Hunk’s been holding dinner until you return.”

Lance smiled, and took Blue’s controls in hand. “Say no more, Princess. I’ll be right there.”

The call cut, and Lance turned Blue back towards the castle, letting her get through the approach and landing procedures herself while he finally finished putting on his armour. After double checking that he hadn’t missed anything important during his impromptu nap, Lance exhaled heavily and stood from the pilot’s seat. “Thanks, Blue.” he smiled softly, patting her inactive dashboard. “You’re the best Lion in all of Voltron.”

Blue purred happily at that, and Lance got the sense that if she could she’d be preening. The trip up to the dining room felt longer than usual, and as he approached the doors Blue helped him push down the rising dread that something bad was going to happen when he stepped through them. They opened to reveal a darkened room, and Lance had all of a second to wonder why Hunk was making everyone sit in the dark before the lights came on all at once and loud noise assaulted his ears.

“Surprise!”

Lance’s mouth fell open. The entire room was decked out with streamers in every colour of Voltron, but primarily blue and green. His chair at the table was wearing a little paper crown, and the table itself- oh dear lord in heaven it was full of food. Real food, not the goo they ate every day. A small pile of colourful shapes sat on the table next to his plate, but he barely spared them a glance as he stepped into the room.

“Happy birthday, Lance!” Pidge chirped, bouncing up and running to give him a hug.

“What?” Lance blinked, looking from Pidge to the rest of the team. “You’re not mad?”

“For the record, I was against the whole surprise part of this party.” Hunk said.

“I did not anticipate how it would affect your ability to mentally synchronise.” Allura admitted.

“Whose idea was this?” Lance frowned, and Shiro and Coran raised their hands with sheepish smiles.

“Look, we get it, you’ve had a shitty day, and we’re all sorry we planned this stupid surprise.” Keith grumbled. “Now could you get your ass over here and open your presents?”

The mention of presents jarred Lance slightly, and he looked at the colourful things by his plate again. They, they did look like packages. And there were five of them. “When did you guys even have the time to do this?” Lance asked, letting Pidge drag him to his seat and place the paper crown on his head.

“Coran helped a lot.” Hunk said, pushing a plate towards Lance loaded with something that looked and smelled an awful lot like paella. “Go on, serve yourself. You barely ate anything at lunch, you must be hungry.”

“Hey, presents first, remember?” Pidge huffed, grabbing the gift on top of the pile and holding it out to him. “Here, I’ll grab a bag for the wrapping.”

Lance took the small box, and looked at the carefully printed To: Lance From: Allura. Her handwriting was clumsy, almost childlike, and Lance almost laughed before realising she’d never written in English before. He lifted the box to his ear and shook it, earning a chuckle from Shiro and a swat from Keith.

“Just open it.” Keith huffed, and so Lance did. Inside, a small jewellery set was nestled in velvety blue fabric, a pair of earrings and necklace all dangling small chunks of dark turquoise crystal.

“Wow.” he breathed, lifting the necklace by its barely-there silver chain. “Allura, it’s beautiful.”

“I’m glad you like it.” she smiled. “The set was my mother’s, but I believe it suits you better than me.”

Lance quickly and carefully unclasped the chain, reconnecting it behind his neck on the second try. The pendant sat low on his chest, right over his heart, and he placed the earrings in his ears without fumbling them for a second. They weren’t quite the same as the turquoise studs he usually wore when he was home for break, slightly heavier, but it was still nice to have something to wear again.

“Mine next.” Shiro grinned, and Lance rolled his eyes but obliged, picking the parcel which had been clumsily wrapped in glittery white wrapping paper. He ripped it off in one fluid motion, dropped it in the bag Pidge had supplied, and examined the tube in his hand.

“Candies?” he guessed, popping the top off and sniffing. They didn’t smell like much at all.

“Bath bombs.”

“No way.” Lance grinned, pouring two out into his hand.

“Way.” Shiro chuckled. “They expand in water, then shrink down again when they dry out.”

Lanse set the bath bombs down in his lap, and reached for the next gift. It was wrapped in green, the paper bumped and creased in odd spots and overlapping at weird angles, and when he unwrapped it he was left with an alien device in his hands, probably altean by the looks of it. He turned it over a few times, then looked at Pidge. “The hell is this?”

“A white-noise maker.” they grinned proudly. “I loaded it with of orchestral music clips, earth-like animal noises, and nature sounds. There’s a bunch of settings I can show you later.”

Lance beamed, clutching the small device to his chest. “Thank you.”

“Mine next.” Keith blurted, and Lance rolled his eyes.

“I’m getting there, Mullet.” he huffed, and grabbed the final small-ish gift, leaving only the large one in impeccably wrapped moustache-print paper on the table. Keith’s gift was slightly larger than Pidge’s, and the wrapping seemed to be more tape than paper, but once he dropped the shell in the trash he could only stare for a few long seconds.

“Where did you- how?”

“Pidge helped.” Keith shrugged as Lance hugged the gift to his chest. “We went through the headset projection memories, and that was the first thing yours ever projected.”

Lance pulled the thick white frame away from his chest, and looked down at the picture of his family, smiling and happy, just like they’d been when he snapped the picture on his way back to school at the end of winter break. “Thank you.” he said, his voice thick, and quickly cleared his throat with a few coughs. Now wasn’t the time to cry.

“Oh, now my present seems lackluster.” Coran complained jovially. Lance rolled his eyes, set the picture frame down in his lap, and reached over to rip the paper off of Coran’s gift.

“Gee, a box.” he deadpanned, dropping the moustache print paper in Pidge’s little trash bag. “I’m flattered.”

Everyone at the table chuckled, and he lifted the lid off with ease. Inside was clothing, garments in shades of blue and teal, and Lance shuffled everything else off his lap into the lid so he could stand and pick up the first thing. It was a tunic, the neck a wide V with a diamond cut out around the point, just like the symbol on his breastplate. A quick rifle through the box revealed that it held two tunics, a shirt, and four pairs of pants. All of which looked to be in his size.

“You were mentioning a week or so ago that you wanted more clothing, so I found some for you.” Coran said proudly. Lance beamed, and hurriedly unfastened his cuirass. Dropping it on the floor by the box lid, he stepped back from the table and pulled on his new shirt. The sash which hung from thin loops on either side tied neatly around his waist, and he did a little spin. The fabric swished around him, and he sat down with a smile.

“Happy birthday, Lance.” Hunk said, and Lance picked up the serving spoon for the sorta-paella that Hunk had pushed towards him earlier. It looked like this wasn’t going to be such an awful birthday after all.


End file.
